Alpine Mule Deer Hunting

[Weatherby Fan]

That area is incredibly busy with hikers and mountain bikers and other recreational users. There is no reason for someone up there to assume it is hunters parked there.

And stinking up an area is a no no, sure ... but not some golden rule that if you break it you should just go home. I have made stalks in on bucks into a basin and failed and retreated back only to watch the same buck be there again the next day.

Its MUCH more important that you dont get seen by these bucks, especially seen creeping in as a predator would, than it is to leave your scent behind. Predators walking through their area is a part of life. If you are hunting truly remote spots these bucks wont even know what a human is or smells like.

It sounds like you are ruling out the possibility that the reason you didn't see anything is that there simply werent any bucks to see.

Not all alpine spots hold deer, no matter how good they look. And those that do are also known to sometimes dry up.

I think your probably missing cyalattes point as he did say no DECENT bucks were spotted, he didn't say they didn't see any deer,

You are right I have also seen deer back in the same area of the Alpine I have been in the very next day, but nothing of any size, quite a few years back when I was young fellar I jumped a 140 class buck in the alpine and never got a shot off, I was quite disappointed, I asked some advice from an experienced hunter I knew, he said get back in there as he won't be far, he was right I got back in there a few days later and shot him a cpl hundred yards from where I seen him.

The point GEF is making and him and I have witnessed it many times this year included, watch a 180 class buck for a few days prior to the season only to see him pushed out opening morning and not return by a Young fellow who thought hiking/hunting in the Alpine was an Olympic sport and you need to cover every inch of it to be successful !
That fellow spent several days in an area that held some decent deer and he never seen one deer after opening morning for this very reason.

[boilerroom]

I can't wait to get into the alpine at some point. Sounds like I need to find a mentor that will let me porter for them and sit and watch how it's done!

[REMINGTON JIM]

All this advice should be backed up with some pics.

Because there is some good advice and some reall bulls** in here

What is the real Bulls** in Here ? RJ

[HighCountryBC]

I think your probably missing cyalattes point as he did say no DECENT bucks were spotted, he didn't say they didn't see any deer,

You are right I have also seen deer back in the same area of the Alpine I have been in the very next day, but nothing of any size.

The point GEF is making and him and I have witnessed it many times this year included, watch a 180 class buck for a few days prior to the season only to see him pushed out opening morning and not return by a Young fellow who thought hiking/hunting in the Alpine was an Olympic sport and you need to cover every inch of it to be successful !
That fellow spent several days in an area that held some decent deer and he never seen one deer after opening morning for this very reason.

This is sound advice. It's one thing to see a 150" dink back in the same alpine basin you polluted earlier in the trip. It's another to see a mature buck back in there after getting blown out.

[Weatherby Fan]

This is sound advice. It's one thing to see a 150" dink back in the same alpine basin you polluted earlier in the trip. It's another to see a mature buck back in there after getting blown out.

This is it exactly.

[rageous]

All this non dink buck talk...mature buck this and that with no pictures from the arm chair hunters....

[twoSevenO]

All this non dink buck talk...mature buck this and that with no pictures from the arm chair hunters....

The only pics you'll see here is that of fancy hunting gear not used to kill any alpine bucks. Lol.

The armchair hunter specials

[dino]

If your up top for the opener there is a small chance that a real mature buck is pokeing his nose out. That is why the opener is so important. They go nocturnal real quick. A mature animal will hide in the sub alpine mostly.
Ive posted many pics over the years on this site of alpine bucks taken because i only hunt up high. Another thing to understand is that all alpine is not the same.

[Weatherby Fan]

If your up top for the opener there is a small chance that a real mature buck is pokeing his nose out. That is why the opener is so important. They go nocturnal real quick. A mature animal will hide in the sub alpine mostly.
Ive posted many pics over the years on this site of alpine bucks taken because i only hunt up high. Another thing to understand is that all alpine is not the same.

I couldn't agree more dino.

[rageous]

The only pics you'll see here is that of fancy hunting gear not used to kill any alpine bucks. Lol.

The armchair hunter specials

LOL...

Come on fellas! Let’s see whatcha got...crack open that vault of big buck pictures for us wannabe big buck hunters